Va. police fatally shoot federal officer

The victim did not comply with orders to drop the weapon

Editor's Note: Cases like this remind me of a passage in Chapter Six of On Combat by my friend, Lt. Col. Dave Grossman. It is here where Grossman writes that “the right response to a survivor is to say simply, ‘I’m so glad you’re okay.’ That the person survived the ordeal and is okay is all that matters.” Check out my column on this topic, posted in conjuction with the below news article today, which has some some reminders from our roster of writers for anyone else who may one day find themselves in a similar situation. Stay safe out there folks.

— PoliceOne Senior Editor Doug Wyllie

By PoliceOne Staff

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. — According to a local television report from WJLA in Virginia, local police shot and killed 34-year-old Ricardo Leon, a lieutenant with the Naval Observatory police who was off duty at the time of the shooting.

According to the news report, Leon had been “in a rage” and throwing furniture out various windows of a Centreville home. Police reportedly encountered Leon in the garage of the residence, where he was apparently seen with a weapon—a shotgun—and did not comply with orders to drop the weapon.

Immediately after officers shot Leon, they reportedly attempted to save his life.